In a striking retail transformation, Adidas has now opened within the former Victoria’s Secret flagship store space in downtown Vancouver, swapping angel wings for the brand with three stripes.
Where lingerie previously reigned supreme for over 10 years, up until January 2024, Adidas has opened its very first “Home of Sport” brick-and-mortar store concept in Canada and the United States.
Just in time for the Black Friday shopping crowds, the Adidas Vancouver flagship store soft opened on Monday, filling a 35,000 sq ft space at 969 Robson Street (750 Burrard Street) — the prominent northeast corner of the intersection of Robson Street and Burrard Street.
This Adidas store spans two levels, including the partial basement level previously occupied by Victoria’s Secret’s PINK brand.
The open configuration of the main level allows natural daylight to stream into the interior, reflecting off the white walls, floors, and ceiling. After sunset, a three-striped overhead lighting system brightly illuminates the space.
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
A particularly visually-striking design feature of the main level’s space is a long floor-to-ceiling video wall next to the Burrard Street entrance.
For both men and women, the main level features extensive collections of sportswear, performance wear, athletic shoes, and sports team jerseys, while the basement level is dedicated to the Originals casual wear and lifestyle collection.
In addition to the collections and the Run Lab for customization, the store space is flexibly designed for events, special guest appearances, running clubs, community partners, and local cultural celebrations.
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
The Adidas flagship store is the largest retail tenant within the 1957-built, six-storey building that carries the name of “Robson Central.”
“Robson Central is an iconic heritage building, so highlights of the remnants of the original building’s architecture will be intentionally exposed and integrated it into our design,” Lesley Hawkins, the Vice President of Retail for Adidas Canada, previously told Daily Hive Urbanized.
“In addition, we are restoring some of the original finishes that were removed in part by previous tenants. We want to bring the history of this building back to life for the city of Vancouver to enjoy once again.”
Hawkins also emphasized that the makeup of Adidas’ locations within Metro Vancouver would not change from the opening of this major flagship store. This includes the continued operations of the nearby Adidas Originals store in the Granville Entertainment District, which recently underwent a major expansion.
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Robson Central was originally built for the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library, until 1995 when the branch moved to Library Square.
Virgin Megastore took over the lower level space between 1996 and 2005 until it was replaced with HMV, which closed in 2012. This building was also briefly home to a Planet Hollywood restaurant from 1997 to 1999.
The upper floors of the building are currently used as the offices and studios of Bell Media, including CTV Vancouver.
Up until just after the 2010 Winter Olympics, when CTV was the national Olympic broadcaster, the main entrance into CTV was situated in a mid-building atrium entrance on Burrard Street. After HMV closed and made way for Victoria’s Secret, the CTV atrium entrance was turned into space for Victoria’s Secret and Shoppers Drug Mart, and the main entrance to the Bell Media floors was relocated to a small entrance on Robson Street.
After closing its flagship store location early in 2024, Victoria’s Secret has since opened a small store within CF Pacific Centre shopping mall to continue serving the downtown Vancouver market.
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Adidas Robson flagship store in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)
Several major commercial real estate changes are set to transform the immediate area, significantly reshaping the Robson Street retail strip, starting with the opening of the Adidas store.
In early 2025, the longtime Roots flagship store at the northwest corner of the intersection of Burrard and Robson streets (immediately west of Adidas) will permanently close, making way for a new retailer.
By Summer 2025, Roots will reopen its flagship store within the nearby former Peloton showroom space at the northwest corner of the intersection of Hornby and Robson streets, merging with the newly opened small Roots store in the former Tesla space.
Slightly to the west along Robson Street, the former Club Monaco store will reopen as JD Sports.